Siege of Myr
The Siege of Myr occurred in the weeks following the Harrying of Myr in late 281 AC. Background House Targaryen The Harrying of Myr set off a series of events that completely destroyed House Targaryen's hold over the Kingdom of the Three Daughters. With the death of Maekar Targaryen, the leadership of the House fell to Baelor Targaryen. Given the circumstances, the transition was not an easy one and the Targaryen forces were paralyzed for several crucial days. Lower-level officers worked to fortify the city, but leadership from above was lacking. Baelor Targaryen held a council-of-war two days into the siege, seeking a unified direction for the trapped military of his house. Twenty-five thousand dothraki waited outside the walls, seeking tribute. After the council, Rhaenys Targaryen offered what tribute she could gather from House Targaryen's property but it served only to enrage Khal Azho, who demanded more. The dothraki would pillage the countryside for days yet until Baelor petitioned the noble houses of Myr for contributions. The Targaryen presence in Myr was therefore marked by decision-making at a plodding pace, punctuated by unauthorized and at times damaging decisions made by lower-ranking members of the host. Tyrosh Conversely, Vogan Nestoris moved very quickly to seize control of Tyrosh and reach out to Lys, recently taken control of by the Balarr family. Upon defenestrating all opposition and capturing and imprisoning the Targaryen family, he secured a loan from the Iron Bank and purchased the services of every mercenary company he could to complement the forces of Tyrosh. In as quick as several weeks' time he amassed a host of 37,623 men and more than three-hundred ships. When combined with the Lyseni men and ships, he could field 48,373 troops and closer to four hundred ships to transport them. The Siege Dothraki Phase Rhaenys Tagaryen's initial offering offended the dothraki Khal, prompting calls of more tribute. Baelor gathered a kingly offering of slaves, gold, horses, and jewels for Azho. The tribute placated the Khal, but what it cost the Targaryens in time-- measured in weeks-- could not have been more precious. By the time Azho decided to ride eastward again, Vogan Nestoris had only days to arrive. Skirmish in the Sea of Myrth While penned in by land by the khalasar of Khal Azho, the Targaryen and Myrish fleets rested at anchor in the harbor outside of Myr. Several days on, sails appeared on the horizon: blue-on-white sails of the Balarr family. After a short parlay with the new Bloodraven, Baelor Targaryen, the Balarr ships established a blockade around the Bay of Myrth. Concurrent to that, a sellsail company under the command of Lysanne Lyzane sailed directly for Myr. The task of destroying the Targaryen fleet fell to Lyzane’s two flagships, nineteen warships, and four cogs. Such was the speed of their attack that they caught the Myrish and Targaryen fleets by complete surprise-- 30% of their vessels were destroyed before they could even be manned. To their credit, however, the Myrish reacted with lightning speed. Ship after ship began to sortie into the harbor and engage with Lyzane, backed up by the Targaryen ships still remaining in the harbor after the flight of Vogan Nestoris. Lyzane boarded and captured a Myrish flagship to add to her fleet in the midst of the sea battle, but it would not be enough to save her flotilla. Lyzane’s sellsails, the Wolves on the Wind, retreated after losing almost half their ships to the Myrish. In the distance the Balarr ships were prepared. While the Wolves on the Wind made an orderly retreat, Balarr’s true fleet readied for war. The badly depleted and outnumbered Myrish and Targaryen ships rallied in the harbor, reinforced by the last few ships of the Targaryen fleet to push away from their docks. The resulting battle was quick and brutal. Balarr’s ships tore through the joint Myrish-Targaryen fleet, sinking several ships and forcing the surrender of the survivors. Despite being caught by surprise, the Myrish-Targaryen fleet managed to sink two Balarr flagships and twenty-one warships on top of the nine warships and two cogs they claimed from the Wolves on the Wind. Six flagships, forty-six warships, and four cogs of the Myrish and Targaryen fleets surrendered to Vyrio Balarr in the harbor. Departure of the Targaryen Forces Once Azho left, the encirclement around Myr broke. Acting with speed uncharacteristic of the army, Baelor Targaryen directed them to march out through the gates less their Myrish allies. The remaining Myrish men, numbering 10,928, would remain behind to defend their homes and the last memory of the Targaryen-lead Three Daughters. Baelor Targaryen rode through the gate at the head of a column three thousand men strong, striking out to the east. Arrival of Vogan Nestoris Nestoris arrived mere days after the departure of the Targaryens, calling for the surrender of the Myrish noble houses. Only one, Nohiar, agreed to this demand but they were forced from the city by the rest of the nobles in a bloody skirmish. The gates closed behind them, and the siege entered its final phase. As the Nestoris men and their sellsword vanguard began to disembark en masse on the beaches, the Myrish prepared for the battle to come. Burning of the Dragon Before the assault on the walls of Myr, Vogan Nestoris ordered the death of Aemon Targaryen and his family. Tying them up to a pyre in front of the walls of Myr, he had the Red Priestess Rohanne, set alight the fire. As his son and daughter burnt first, then his wife, Aemon Targaryen screamed and hollered as his flesh burned and melted, the inhumane screams covering the ears of every man in Myr and the army of Nestoris. As the flames dances against the walls, he screamed out one final cry for his family, before being consumed by the fire. Word of his horrific murder soon spread past Myr, and throughout Essos as well as Westeros. The Battle of Myr Vogan Nestoris deployed the Company of the Cat, the recently-contracted Silver Guild, the Second Sons, the Stormbreakers, the Company of the Rose, and the Windblown to scale the walls of Myr. Thousands died in the effort-- Horano Drahar, son of the Tregar Drahar slain only weeks prior beside Maekar Targaryen, took one wall and slew Vogan Nestoris' own blood and the Captain of the Second Sons with the Valyrian steel sword Dragon's Bane. In a stand worthy of the most skilled bards' talents, Magister Fyllonis held the gate and decimated the Stormcrows, costing three rams and eliminating more than two-thirds of their number. This prompted the commitment of the Silver Guild to the gates, where Fyllonis and his men maimed its leader, Tantol Cockshaw, with a crossbow bold that destroyed his hand. Eventually, though, the added weight of the Silver Guild crashed through the gate and compelled Fyllonis and his men to retreat. One-by-one the walls were scaled. The Company of the Cat were entirely unsuccessful in their task, instead entering through the gate forced by the Silver Guild. As Magister Drahar retreated from his own wall, he joined Magister Fyllonis, maimed himself by combat with the Silver Guild, and Magister Taenos. The Magisters of Myr organized their forces in the streets, aided by weeks of Targaryen forces preparing for this eventuality. The overwhelming numerical superiority of their assailants whittled away at their number. War elephants blundered through the lines of Magister Taenos, wounding him severely but causing enough chaos that one of Nestoris' inner circle, Gorevos Adarys, found himself encircled and executed by a man with a crossbow. While the event clearly perturbed Taenos he had greater problems to face. As chaos began to engulf the Myrish forces, Magisters Fyllonis and Drahar met for the final time. Fyllonis, coated in blood and viscera and clutching a maimed arm, gathered a volunteer force to hunt for Vogan Nestoris. Drahar opted instead to attempt at a final stand, near to the center of the city. Fyllonis and his force were harried and picked apart, and the legendary Magister Fyllonis himself fell before he found his quarry. Drahar surrendered the Myrish forces soon after, bringing about an end to the battle. Aftermath With the loss of Myr, House Targaryen surrendered any claim they had on the Kingdom of the Three Daughters. Vogan Nestoris cemented his rule over the same, and would over the coming days set to wiping out the entirety of those noble houses that had stood against him-- only the Nohiar family would survive. As the smoke of the sacrificial pyres cleared, messages would go out to the other free cities in a call for fealty. Vogan had officially reorganized the Three Daughters into the First Tyroshi Empire, and named himself Supreme Chancellor. Vyrio Balarr would be appointed Triarch of Myr, and Joricho Nestoris would be granted a recently-vacated manse in Myr to represent his father's interests in the city. With Myr pacified, western Essos waited with bated breath to see where the Empire's next strike would fall. Quotes So uncivilized. -Magister Taenos, upon witness of General Gorevos' summary execution by crossbow bolt. It's just a flesh wound, you limp cock! I've got two arms, and I can use either to hold a sword! Come with me and lets put this craven out of his misery! -Magister Fyllonis, ignoring pain and reason in the final effort to kill Vogan Nestoris. Category:Myr Category:The Kingdom of the Three Daughters